Easter 2012

On Saturday we headed to my parents as soon as the kids got up in the morning. We ate a delicious breakfast (including J's cinnamon rolls from scratch) and the kids got to do their easter egg hunt. Here are a couple pics from the event...

Love New's face here. This boy was MADE for such events. His all time favorite pastime right now is cleaning up. If there's a box or bin to put things into, he'll spend an hour putting things in it. Including Beck's cars into the toy box (this usually doesn't go over real well!)

The moment Beck realized there's something in the eggs...

Attempt at a group shot. Stratton is in tears, but both the boys were/are sick, so its understandable, he was more than done at this point...

Opening eggs: Some of the eggs were filled with candy, and some were filled with fake money. My parents set up a "prize table" and the kids were able to use the fake money to buy gifts. The Kids LOVED the idea, and it kept the excitement going longer than the 5 minutes it takes to pop eggs open!

Separating out candy from money...

The prize table. The kids didn't realize, but there were four different "age groups" they could buy from. Ie: They bought all the gift my parents got them and weren't fighting. It was still funny to watch Kylie asking my dad how much certain items cost, and thinking about whether it was worth it...like they weren't going to go home with all of it in the end... =)

Draw a model book was a big hit with Ky

Beck emptying his easter basket (yes, there were baskets as well as eggs and prize table. My parents never do anything half way!!!

After he bought his fishing pole from the prize table..

Newie hanging out playing with his stuffed dog and maracas...

Ky and I on our way to service on Sunday. Please excuse the black socks and slippers, I did put on real shoes before leaving for church. J had to stay home with the boys due to some pretty nasty runny noses.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter! I know we did. The best part? When J asked Ky why we celebrate Easter...she knew the answer. I couldn't ask for anything more!!!

Life...

I feel like lately we've been running around like mad men, but I really don't have much to show for it. We've slowly been packing boxes of things we know we won't need for the next two months (old books, rarely used board games, art work) in order to make the house look less cluttered when we start showing it to renters (hopefully in the next two weeks), but the bummer is, when you're packing away things you rarely notice and they're things that are rarely seen by others (shoved in front closet, etc) It doesn't really look like you've done anything at all. We've packed full our trash can, as well as our kind neighbors, for the last three weeks, throwing things out we no longer need and can't donate and/or sell. We got rid of the black rocker that I've used with all 3 kiddos, and I'm slowly handing down clothes from Stratton and Kylie that we no longer have use for. All in all, I guess you have to start somewhere, and I'd say we've definitely done that much!

The weather has been all over the place around here lately. One day its almost 90 degrees, the next day there's tornados, and the next day the high is in the 50's. Which explains why both the boys are sick....of course!) But when it has been nice, the kids have spent a huge amount of time in the back yard. They love using their buckets and shovels, and rain water to go "exploring", "mix up concoctions" and "take care of my plants". Newie is just as content dumping handfuls of sand on his head and laughing as it finds its way to every crevice of his chubbiness! Its a pain to clean up, but its a sure fire way to keep them entertained for an hour if not longer.

This is usually how Newie looks at the end of an afternoon playing in the backyard, caked with wet sand, he doesn't seem to mind at all, and honestly speaking, as long as its a bath night, neither do I! My boys are definitely boys, they aren't afraid of a little dirt....or a lot for that matter!

He must have some pretty big teeth coming in towards the back of his mouth, he's chewing on everything. He bit Beck's hand the other day, nearly drawing blood, and chewed on a roll of toilet paper to the point that I thought the dog had ripped into it.

Ky and Beck deep in their "work"

Love the connection these two have. She's such a good big sister!

Last weekend, Ky got to get all dolled up to go to a Fancy Nancy Birthday party for her friend Makenzie. We loved going through her closet and seeing what we could put together. The party was a blast complete with parfaits and cupcakes!

Here she is all "pink and purpled" and blinged out for the party.

...and the Battles begin!

So one of J's requests of the last three weeks or so, was for me to walk him through what I think NEEDS to be done in the new house and what I'd LIKE to be done in the new house. I had been putting off said conversation since then, knowing the battle that would ensue. And I was right in my thinking. We got about 20 minutes into the conversation when I had to get up and walk away. I realized that we were about to get into a full fledged fight over decorating ideas on a house that we don't even OWN yet!!!

Needless to say, we knew from the get go that this wasn't going to be an easy process for the two of us. Take all major issues out of the equation: thoughts on raising kids, religion, family life, money (this one is questionable)...and its safe to say that J and I are polar opposites!

So I'm just going to take a moment and complain....maybe even whine a little (or a lot)

I've been scouring Pinterest for months searching for ideas from the formal living room to the laundry room. If you browse my pins, its easy to see that I have a LOVE for the color gray. If left to my own accord, each room in my house would have some shade of it. As it stands, our current master as well as ky's room are shades of gray. I think it is a beautiful color that you never get sick of and goes with any accent color you choose! One of J's first comments the other evening was, "We're not doing gray again. No way."

Ouch. You might as well pull out my heart and serve it on a platter. If it was possible to marry a color, grey would be my man, and we'd make little grey chevron babies and live happily ever after. Unfortunately that's not the case.

I happen to have a husband with an opinion about EVERYTHING, including the color or texture of a lampshade or couch...and it just so happens that we are never of the SAME opinion.

So let's take specifics out of the equation.

Even how we would go about conquering this beast of a house we're moving into is different. I think it best to explain by using an analogy.

Jason and I have differing opinions regarding how a house should be cleaned (shocking, i know right?) I prefer to do a room at a time, piece by piece so that some part of the house is actually clean top to bottom. So in a day, I might clean our bedroom. When Jason comes home and asks what I did that day and I respond by saying that I cleaned our bedroom he looks at me like, really that's all you did today? Not ever realizing how much effort I put into that.

Jason prefers to chose a method, and move about the entire house. Take dusting as an example. So after running errands I come home to a house that essentially appears no different than it did before i left, although I'm sure it is a good bit cleaner. ouch!

The house is no different. I'd rather start with a room and complete it! Paint, window treatments, all the way down to the accent pillows. He'd rather garb furniture for the rooms and worry about paint later....but how am I suppose to know what furniture I want without a VISION? Without paint or bedding? * Just thinking about it makes my blood pressure rise*

As you can see, none of this leads to a happy ending. As our marriage matures, this is one beast we have yet to tackle. I think this is because for the last 7 years, we've been perfecting (or rather trying to perfect) this parenting thing that keeps popping up and never seems to go away =).

Who knows where the medium is? Or When (I WILL NOT SAY "IF") we will find it. But the gloves are on and its sure to be quite a match...

Couple Pics...

This weekend, Ky was pumped to drag Dad out to their first, and certainly not last, daddy daughter dance. They had a blast dancing, snacking, and crafting it up! Sure to say it was a successful adventure! And she can't wait till the next one!

Kylie's soccer team had team pictures this weekend, so before heading out to the game, we did our own little mini session. Here is my baby girl in her wild cats jersey, ready to go kick some butt!

The Dawson's minus Joey...

When my good friend Jess shared with me that her hubs would be making the trek from Houston to Dallas for work this week, I threatened the end of our friendship if she didn't pack up her two adorable kids and make the trip with him! We spent a lot of time indoors thanks to the rain, but with a house full of 5 kids, we were never in need of something to do. Here are some pictures from their visit.

This first picture is the main reason why there aren't many pictures from this week. Strat is all about the camera these days and it takes only seconds between him spotting it to him pulling up on me trying to grab it out of my hands...

Where do I start talking bout this girl? She is everything that is beautiful in this world, as well as everything that is odd. Between her 10 foot wingspan and darth vador sound effects, she was highly entertaining and kept me laughing all week long. She also kept kiki on her toes....as she was a bit obsessed with getting her.

The boys watching a video from the library.

Practicing taking turns playing with the cars magnet board.

Running off some energy outside. These two are quite competitive and unwilling to give when the other requests anything. Couldn't tell you how many times we heard, "I said it first" and "I got it" throughout the week. But I love that we both have boys the same age..it makes visiting so incredibly enjoyable.

Say cheese...

Playing sticky letters on the backdoor window...

A huge thanks to Jess, my amazing friend, who saved my sanity this week by putting up with our ridiculousness and allowing it to mix with hers! Love you!

Moving on up...

For those of you who don't know us very well, we've been talking about moving for quite sometime. Our current home we built with the intent of using it as a starter home, just temporary until we could move out East. Five years was the max that Jason said he was willing to stay in Texas, period. That was close to seven years ago...and we're still here! However, the last seven years have taught us one very important lesson, it has taught us how to listen. How to stop trying to control every little detail of our life and just listen to what God has in store for us. It isn't easy, but as we mature, we're starting to slowly wrap our fingers around the idea. For a number of significant worth while reason which I won't bore you with listing, we feel like we are where we need to be, regardless of where we'd like to be. So without further ado, below are a couple shots of the house we will be closing on mid May. It is most definitely a project house that we will pour hours of sweat and tears into, not to mention...money. But we both knew as soon as we saw it, it was the one for us...so until LIFE tells us its time to follow our dreams, we will once again lay new roots in Texas and start a new chapter of our beautiful mess of a life!



I am both terrified and exhilarated, although I'm not sure which one more...as I get older I become more scared, more timid, more worried. I have to remember to breathe, trust, and decorate (and in that order...)

Humanity's Responsibility...

It has been 2 years since we lost our two heavenly babies through miscarriages. Hard to imagine that much time has past. I thought the pain would never end, I thought there'd forever be a little piece of my heart that would ache for eternity.

I was wrong. Or rather, I was dramatic in my thinking.

I still remember it. I remember where I was at, what I was thinking, how I was feeling.

Two years later and I look at how much I have grown. I am thankful for the challenges God puts in front of me. I would not be who I am today without having gone through what I did.

From then to now, I have been able to help two friends of mine struggling in the midst of the same heartache I vividly remember. God put that difficult path before me so that I may be a safe haven for others to rest their weary heads and tired souls.

It is a responsibility God has trusted me with. I believe God has a reason for everything. Every action, good and not so good. I know he walks through those valleys with me just as he delights in the hills. But I also know that as One being, One Body, it is also our duty to help one another. Sometimes the reason God sends troubles our way is simply so we can be there for others. Everyones grief is their own. Their struggles are unique to them, and their battles with Satan are different from my own, but there has been many people who have held me up when I didn't have the strength to stand myself. So when God places it upon my heart to try my hardest to be a crutch for someone else, I will.

Because in the end, all we have is Him and each other.

I love you girls!!!!!

2 corinthians 1:3-5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.